The increased use of bicycles and bicyle travel has accentuated the problem of providing proper carriers for personal effects, paraphernalia, and so on, of the person on the bicycle. The requirements generally are that the carrier bags, or so-called panniers, may be readily secured to existing luggage racks on bicycles and yet be secure against movement of the bicycle while it is in motion.
Many different devices and methods have been used to accomplish this result in the past and the prior patent art as known presently to the applicant is summarized briefly below.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,102,105 to Marrs discloses parcel carriers for motorcycles, in this case, which are suspended by means of leaf springs from the frame of the cycle and steadied from the rear axle. Positive insurance against sidewise motion and ease of installation are not provided for.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,963,333 to Morales discloses a carrier which straddles the rear wheel of a bicycle, is screwed to the mud guard and strap fastened to the frame. No positive protection against lateral or other motion is provided for.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,039,663 to Glenny also discloses carrier baskets supported from the rear bicycle fender with "C" shaped jaws for clearance adjustment. It represents a flimsy construction at best.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,934,770 to Larsen discloses a pair of collapsible baskets constructed with scissor-like sides and with the latter exception there is nothing novel or superior about the method of fastening to the bicycle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,574 to Heise discloses an "L" shaped holder supported from the side of a bicycle frame and the method of support is designed primarily to make it readily removable for use as a portable carrier. No special support features are disclosed for the pannier.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,174 to Norinsky discloses a brief-case in combination with means for attaching to a bicycle and its novelty resides in the brief-case and bicycle combination with corresponding method of support which is quite unlike that of applicants.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,615 to Kline discloses what he calls a rigid saddle bag which straddles the rear wheel and is fastened to the axle by means of support brackets. Novelty seems to reside within the construction of the rigid bag itself, as a permanent fixture to a bicycle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,786,972 to Alley comes closer to applicant's invention in that it endeavors to adapt a pair of pannier bags to an existing bicycle luggage rack. The distinguishing feature is the bag construction which permits it to be used as a back-pack when removed from the bicycle. An elaborate method of fastening to the bicycle frame is disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,374 to Hine purports to be an improvement over Alley above. It provides for rigidity of the bag walls and likewise employs an elaborate system of links and springs to fasten it to an existing bicycle luggage rack.
None of the prior art accomplishes applicant's purpose which is to provide a ready and simple method of attachment of carrier bags to a luggage carrier while insuring that they would be free from movement or dislocation in any direction while the bicycle is in motion, particularly over rough terrain. None of the support structures disclose positive lateral supports attached to a frame in the manner of applicant in order to prevent undesirable movement of the bags.